FINRA Fines and Suspends Former SagePoint Broker
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined and suspended Michael Ferrera Jr., a former SagePoint broker accused of failing to disclose an outside business activity.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined and suspended Michael Ferrera Jr., a former SagePoint broker accused of failing to disclose an outside business activity and “knowingly” making false and misleading statements to SagePoint personnel and FINRA staff.
According to FINRA’s settlement letter, in July 2019, Ferrera reportedly offered one of his clients “estate management services,” such as lawn care, house maintenance, personal organization, and “concierge services,” which he claimed could include almost anything the customer might want or need. The client, a recently widowed 83-year-old who was having trouble managing her affairs, was charged $20,000 for five years of the services.
Days later, Ferrera reportedly began performing “limited services” such as organizing the customer’s mail and personal papers.
FINRA claims that shortly after the check was deposited, the widow’s bank investigated and reversed the transaction. The customer then complained in writing to SagePoint and FINRA, prompting both to investigate. In both investigations, Ferrera allegedly gave false and misleading answers suggesting his estate-management activities amounted to an established business, although the SagePoint customer was his first and only estate-management client.
According to FINRA, during SagePoint’s investigation, Ferrera falsely stated that he began performing the estate management services about six months before depositing the check from his SagePoint customer and had earned $50,000 in total from two individuals in the past. He made similar false statements to FINRA during an exam, but later provided “truthful testimony” about the issues he previously misrepresented to the regulator.
Ferrera was fined $15,000 for the alleged misconduct and was suspended for two years. He signed FINRA’s settlement letter without admitting or denying the allegations.
According to his BrokerCheck profile, he spent 14 years at SagePoint before being permitted to resign in March 2020.
